Tower 53 Condominiums

 condominium, 1967_construction, Modern (architecture)

381-foot, 38-story modernist residential building completed in 1967. Designed by Boak & Raad, it is clad in white brick above a pre-existing 10-story office building that serves as the base for the residential tower (the office portion is described separately).

The building was completed as rental apartments, but was converted to condominiums in 1983. Many of the apartments have balconies that originally had yellow glass railings, which were changed in 2006 to a much more attractive clear glass. At the same time, all the windows were replaced.

The residential tower section has its entrance through the south facade of the base, on 53rd Street. It is recessed with a glass-and-bronze double-door flanked by sidelights, and with a transom on top. A metal canopy, rounded in the middle, extends out over the sidewalk, supported halfway by a pair of bronze posts.

The west facade of the tower, facing the avenue, has five bays triple-windows (single panes in the center and 2-over-1 panes at the ends). The middle and end bays have projecting concrete balconies with slightly angled ends to the front side, enclosed by the previously mentioned glass railings. The balconies are located on every second floor, staggered so that the middle-bay balconies alternate with those at the ends.

The south facade on 53rd Street has two bays of single-windows at the west end, followed by three bays of triple-windows like those on the west elevation; these three bays are framed by projecting, beveled concrete piers. From here the south facade sets back, with projecting balconies filling the corner created by the setback; these balconies also have angled end panes. To the right is a bay of single-windows, then another small setback to a bay of double-windows, and a wider end bay of projecting balconies, these with two flat front panes to the glass railings, between the angled panes.

The east elevation has two bays of single-windows at the south half, which extends farther to the east. The north half has a bay of triple-windows. The main north facade has seven bays of single-windows, with smaller windows in the 2nd bay from each side. The east end is set back, and has another two bays of single-windows, one of them with the smaller openings, and two bays of single-windows at the serrated corner between the two main section of the north elevation.

The building contains 213 condominium units.